Rustic Thanksgiving Table

11/13/16

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. We celebrate with my family at my sister’s house with a crowd of upwards of 25 people. The whole day is steeped in tradition, which is my favorite part.

My brother-in-law and the men stand outside around a bubbling turkey fryer, chatting, watching the birds, and enjoying a drink. They fry up two or three of the most delicious, flavorful turkeys every year. My mom and dad bring a roasted turkey, and all the adults bring a contribution to share, too. My sister makes a divine sweet potato soufflé and a cranberry cornbread dressing that we all look forward to.

I’m assigned to make the apple pies every year, which is a labor I love. I turn on the Macy;s Day Parade for the kids, put on my apron and crank up Engelbert Humperdinck in the kitchen, just as my mom did while I was growing up. Heaven.

We spend the day feasting: the kids play, we sprawl out all over the floor with the Christmas catalogs, the Chevy Chase Family Vacation movies on the TV, and just enjoy the day together with our loved ones.

I put together a couple of fall tablescapes this year that I hope you will love.

They are both simple, rustic, and easy designs that reminded me of a welcoming farmhouse feel. I already had most of the items lying around the house, but I needed a tablecloth that fit my vision. My cruises around my usual favorite haunts were unsuccessful, but then one day last week I spotted exactly what I was looking for in a very unlikely place: Lowe’s.

I went looking for contractor paper, but when I walked down the aisle back to the register, I spotted this full length curtain panel. For $9.99, the price couldn’t be beat. It’s the perfect size to fold in half and trail down the middle of a table. I love the casual feel it gives.

I started deciding what I wanted to use to make my tablescape by putting everything I liked in the middle of the table. This is the same way I style my built-in shelves. It helps to see everything, the colors, the heights, the textures, in one place

The milk glass pieces are parts of my thrifted collection that I love to search for when I’m out junkin’ . You can see some more of my finds here.

I picked up a bouquet of wildflowers and eucalyptus branches from Trader Joe’s for less than $20, along with a big, beautiful pumpkin. After cutting the stems of the flowers short and tucking them under the pumpkin, this simple centerpiece was created.

The tablecloth looked so causal and welcoming ruched up in the middle when I first put it down that I kept it like that. With all the kids we have running around, I loved that the table didn’t have to look perfect.

I set out my simple white serving ware on top of copper chargers with cloth napkins that are threaded through with gold ribbon. My favorite touch are the thankful cards, which the boys and I made for our thankful tree here. I love the idea of leaving a blank one at each setting for everyone to write on and then share while we eat.

I can’t wait to show you the second Thanksgiving tablescape I put together this week!

I hope you enjoy your day with the ones you love.

Watch me chat live on Good Day Rochester about Thanksgiving tables below!

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I’m so happy you’re here! Willowcrest Lane is where I share inspiration for living a beautiful life.

Here you’ll find honest motherhood stories and conversations, along with simple meals, fun treats, easy ways to style your home, cute outfits and so much more – I hope you get comfortable here and visit often - I can’t promise I have it all together, but I can guarantee that we’re going to have fun trying to figure things out!